


Hush Hush, Darling

by Stray_Lilly



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Additional Tags to Be Added, Alternate Universe - Secret Agents/Spies, Assassination, Friends to Lovers, Guns, Heartbreak, Knives, M/M, Murder, Reconnecting with Past Lovers, Smut, Stalking, Torture, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, lies and betrayal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:41:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28770261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stray_Lilly/pseuds/Stray_Lilly
Summary: "What do you need from me?""Agent Lee, I need you to find him. Get whatever you can out of him. And then execute him."Minho opened the folder and his heart broke. This... This was the man he loved. This was the man he planned on spending the rest of his life with.Kim Seungmin.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Seungmin, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Lee Minho | Lee Know/Seo Changbin
Comments: 24
Kudos: 58
Collections: Be Kind: Rewind! | SKZ 90s Fic Fest





	Hush Hush, Darling

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Don't Speak, by No Doubt 
> 
> Thank you to whoever submitted this song as a prompt! I'll try not to keep you waiting for updates!
> 
> I hope you enjoy my interpretation of the song! 
> 
> You can listen to the song here:  
> Don't Speak
> 
> Notes on tags:  
> I haven't tagged non-con because all sexual content occurs with consent.  
> Please be aware of the torture and violence tags (the only non con elements are violence-related)  
> I tagged mcd just in case but it's not certain

**3 Years Ago**

Seungmin’s fingers gripped the rusted chain-link fence and he propelled himself upward. He could hear the man’s heavy footfalls and his grunts as he sprinted across the tarmac in pursuit. 

He swung his legs over the top of the fence, and for lack of time, let his body give in to gravity. His shoes skated over the wire as he slid to the ground, landing unsteadily on his feet. It took him two seconds to regain his balance, but those two seconds were costly.

Fingers closed around his wrist, followed by a twist, and a harsh snap. Seungmin cried out in pain, doubling over as his attacker’s boot connected with his ribcage, and then slammed into his lower back. Seungmin rolled over, body writhing in pain as he looked up at his attacker. The man smiled, and then stomped down on his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

“Tell me where it is.”

“Why?” he asked with difficulty. A sharp pain coursed through his diaphragm when he spoke. “You’ll just—” he swallowed painfully, “kill me anyway.”

On his haunches now, the man shook his head, lips forming a wry smile. “Yes, I’m going to kill you, but that’s me being kind. I don’t know you but I’ll show you mercy. I’ll let you take the easy way out. Or would you rather be strung up and tortured? You know what we can do. You’ve done it yourself.”

Seungmin began to cough, flecks of his blood and saliva dotting the man’s face. Still, the man didn’t move. “Fuck you,” he gasped out, finding it harder to breathe. 

“Tell me where it is,” the man pressed the barrel of his gun between Seungmin’s eyes. “Tell me, and I’ll make it quick.”

Dark spots began to cloud his vision, his body feeling weighted down. This was not how Seungmin wanted it to end for him. This couldn’t be the end. 

All the people he’d left behind, his friends, his family, the chance at normalcy that he’d long ago sacrificed, all for nothing? He couldn’t allow it. He refused to go this way. He probably looked delirious enough that the man didn’t think much of it when he shifted his gaze around, looking for something, anything.

They were in a grass field. Just ahead was an upward slope, and then the highway loomed. If Seungmin could just get there…

He swung his foot, connecting with the man’s ankle. He didn’t have enough strength to cause injury but the impact had been enough to startle, enough to distract. Pain roared through his body, his lungs on fire as he wrestled the gun from the man’s grip. 

Seungmin saw his opponent’s eyes widen, his parted lips, and the swift realization that he was going to die. And Seungmin didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. 

With the beginnings of a scream, the man crumpled into a heap. 

Seungmin tore his eyes away, and fixed his gaze on the slope ahead. He didn’t know how he was going to do it. But he had to.

He braced himself, but found himself distracted by a soft buzzing sound. Of course. 

He dragged himself towards the corpse, and began searching the inside of pockets of the jacket until his fingers closed around the phone. He swiped the screen. 

“What’s your position?”

Seungmin glanced at the corpse.

“He’s dead.”

There was silence on the other end of the line, and then a shuddering breath. 

“You should… clean up this mess,” Seungmin said, between deep, painful breaths. “Before the wrong – the wrong people find him and trace him back to you.”

In all honesty, Seungmin _needed_ this to be cleaned up. He needed the body to be gone before anyone found it and traced it back to him. 

“I’m going to kill you,” the voice sounded detached, void of the urgency it held before.

Seungmin turned to look at the slope ahead. He’d probably be dead before long anyway. He hung up and discarded the phone. Slowly, and with as much strength as his wrecked body could muster, he crawled towards the slope, fingers digging into the hard ground. 

He began to claw his way up the slope, fistfuls of grass coming away as he tried to find enough leverage to pull himself up. His body protested. He could feel the sharp edges of a broken rib grazing his lung as he dragged his body with more force. The pain was a searing burn, his entire body set alight with it.

He was running out of time. He needed help.

At the first sight of asphalt, fresh tears sprung to his eyes. He lay on the side of the highway, weakly lifting a hand as a car neared and slowed.

Seungmin only registered the sound of a car door slamming, and the beautiful face that faded in and out as his vision turned to black.

* * *

Minho loved seafood. That was the only reason Seungmin was spending his Tuesday morning at a fish market. He looked at the octopi floating in glass tanks and shuddered, moving on. If Minho wanted squid, they could order in, because Seungmin definitely didn’t know how to cook _that_. He picked up some red snapper, shrimp and scallops instead. 

With his purchases wrapped in paper and tucked into thick plastic bags he jumped into the car and immediately called Minho. 

“Hey,” Minho sounded almost reluctant. “Is something wrong?”

Seungmin blinked away his confusion and shook his head even though Minho couldn’t see him. “Can’t I just call?”

“You can.”

Minho’s nonchalance, his lack of enthusiasm, made Seungmin want to hang up. He almost felt embarrassed, as if he shouldn’t have been calling in the first place, “It sounds awfully quiet at work.”

“I’m in my office, Seungmin. What else do you expect?”

“I – I know,” Seungmin frowned at the annoyance in Minho’s voice. “I was just saying… Nevermind.” He inwardly sighed, “I, uh… I just wanted to tell you we’re having seafood for dinner. Your favourite.”

“Ah.”

Seungmin sighed and pressed his lips together. He really wanted to ask Minho what the hell was wrong with him these past few weeks. But he also _really_ didn’t want to know.

Three years had passed since they started dating, and two years since they moved in together. And even at the very beginning, Minho had been honest with him. He’d made it clear that Seungmin was a rebound, that he was still reeling from a relationship that didn’t work out. 

But as each milestone passed – six months, then a year, the first time Minho told him that he loved him, when he asked him to move in – Seungmin began to hope, began to feel that he was more than a rebound. But maybe he’d been wrong all this time.

Maybe Minho was having doubts now. Maybe he realized that he didn’t need Seungmin anymore. Maybe – and this was the one _maybe_ that made Seungmin tremble – there was someone else. 

It made sense. All those late nights where Minho was apparently working late at the office, coming home reeking of alcohol. It really didn’t help that his job as a marketing consultant meant that he spent weeks out of the country, out of Seungmin’s reach. 

“See you later, Minho.”

“Seungmin, wait.”

Seungmin’s eyes widened slightly. Was this it? _Please don’t break up with me, not like this, not now, not ever._

“I’ll be home late. Don’t wait up.”

Minho sat on the ledge, cautiously staring out at the hands of foam that lashed against the cliff face. He’d been afraid of heights since he was a kid – so afraid that it became a hindrance to his work. Changbin had tied him up and left him on the top of this cliff, right at this spot. He’d stayed the night, cold and shivering, scared out of his wits – he’d been twenty at the time. Twelve years ago.

Changbin’s lesson didn’t cure his phobia. But Minho realized that facing one fear, lessened the impact of another fear. Whenever he was afraid of something, he’d come to this spot and he’d think, _‘There’s nothing worse than this, nothing scarier than this.’_

The sun cast a golden glow on the ocean, and burned the skin on Minho’s back. He shrugged on his shirt but left it unbuttoned, the white material flapping in the breeze.

Behind him, he heard Changbin open another bottle of beer. He looked up as the cold bottle touched his cheek. “Thanks,” he took a gulp and returned his gaze to the ocean.

Changbin dropped down beside him and slung an arm around his shoulder. “Shit, Minho, if we get caught…”

Minho snorted, “It’s not like this is our first time.” In the past few years he’d met Changbin at this very spot at least thirty times. 

“But this is different,” Changbin reminded him. “The circumstances are different.”

“If you want to leave, feel free to do so.” 

Minho knew he was being unnecessarily bitter, especially since Changbin wasn’t obligated to be there. But he was running out of options, running out of time.

“You know I care about you, Min,” Changbin rested his head on Minho’s shoulder. “And that I’d do anything for you. But this…”

“Please,” Minho turned to look at Changbin, hoping that the man would see his desperation. “Changbin, please. I love him. I love him so much. He’s everything to me and I can’t – I… Even though he’s breaking my heart, I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to him.”

“That’s what you said about the last one. And it was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

Seungmin did wait up for Minho. 

He stared at the computer screen, one tab open to Minho’s bank account. Seungmin could do it. Two clicks, the right algorithm and he would be in. He’d have a full record of how Minho was spending his money. On the other tab Seungmin had open, it would take just a click to see a list of the numbers Minho had called recently. He could even pull up Minho’s texts if he wanted to. Seungmin knew that he was also capable of tracking Minho’s whereabouts, that it would only take ten minutes. He also knew that if Minho was seeing someone else, he could easily get rid of them without Minho even suspecting anything. But that wasn’t who Seungmin was anymore. And he’d never violate the privacy of a loved one in that way. 

Also, Seungmin just _really_ preferred being blissful ignorant. Except, the bliss had begun to seep out of the cracks of their relationship – like anaesthetic slowly wearing off, the numbness fading away to reveal the vivid, searing pain that had been masked.

He didn’t want to admit that Minho was slipping away from him. Minho was all he had. Minho was his shot at a normal life. Minho had shown him that he _could_ live a normal life. Seungmin didn’t know whether he was capable of going back to the life he had before Minho. He didn’t know whether he would ever want that life again.

Despite the temptation, Seungmin reluctantly closed each tab, only leaving one open – the website design he was working on for a clothing store. After Seungmin went on the run he had to make a living somehow, and web design was easy money for him. Minho earned enough to support them both, but Seungmin liked his independence. And he’d needed some kind of career, or Minho would’ve been suspicious. 

He glanced at the clock, watching the needle move slightly – ten o’clock. He’d prepared dinner a little later than planned, at around 8pm, hoping that Minho would be home by 9pm at the latest. 

No such luck. Minho came home at exactly 11pm. 

Seungmin stared at him from across the living room, but Minho refused to meet his gaze as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and strode towards the hallway, his shirt half tucked in. Seungmin winced as the bathroom door slammed shut.

It was as if Minho couldn’t even pretend to be happy with Seungmin anymore. It seemed as if he couldn’t stand to even _look_ at him. And Seungmin had to question why Minho didn’t just walk away from their relationship if he was so unhappy. But it was something he could never ask Minho. He wasn’t prepared for the answer.

The food was inedible at this point. Putting everything in the microwave had just turned everything rubbery and dry. A waste. Seungmin sighed, watching the steam rise from the tray. They’d have to make do with dessert. It was late anyway and he doubted Minho would be up for a full meal.

He was startled to see Minho’s silhouette already at the head of the dining room table. He switched the light on and offered a nervous smile even though Minho had his gaze fixed on the table.

“I baked a cake!” Seungmin announced, trying to sound upbeat. He cringed when silence followed. He set the two-layer chocolate cake down on the table and took a seat beside Minho. 

He watched Minho’s gaze shift to the cake, his jaw working as he read the words Seungmin had neatly scrawled in white icing: _Happy 3rd Anniversary_. 

Minho had already left for work before Seungmin had woken that morning, but unlike the previous years there’d been no cards or gifts waiting. No flowers. Minho hadn’t called him to wish him either. And when Seungmin had called him from the car, Minho hadn’t mentioned it. But it was okay, Seungmin kept telling himself. It was normal for people to forget things when they were busy.

Minho shifted in his chair so that he was facing Seungmin. The only word that could come close to describing the look in his eyes was _hatred_. It made Seungmin’s own eyes burn with tears. And Seungmin wasn’t a crier. Both of them meshed well in that sense – they didn’t lose control of their emotions often, and their temperament remained level. In fact, Minho had only seen Seungmin cry once – the day he’d found Seungmin on the highway – and Minho himself had never shed a tear in front of Seungmin.

Minho inhaled, and when he exhaled, his breath was shaky as if he was trying to hold in more than he could take. He reached behind his back, and there was a flicker of hesitancy in his eyes – just before he pointed his gun at Seungmin.

“Why me, Seungmin? Why the fuck would you hurt me this way?”

* * *

**4 Weeks Ago**

Minho walked into the briefing room of the National Intelligence Service of South Korea. This room always put him on edge, nervous excitement thrumming beneath his skin as he took a seat opposite Director Gwan. It was surprising that he’d requested to meet with Minho alone. The mission was probably a sensitive one.

“Sir,” Minho gave him a curt nod which the middle aged man returned before placing a folder between them.

“The mission is simple,” the Director said, “but it needs to stay between us, Agent Lee.”

“Of course, Sir.” Secrecy was a huge part of Minho’s life. One more secret wouldn’t hurt.

Director Gwan swung a pen back and forth between his fingertips, the only sign of his apprehension. “Three years ago, we began developing a surveillance device in our lab – the Globular59,” he said. Noting Minho’s confusion, he added, “The specifics of that device isn’t important right now. What’s important, is that it was stolen.”

Minho narrowed his eyes. Their facilities were all well-guarded. Nothing and no one left without permission.

Director Gwan pursed his lips, releasing a soft sigh, “An ASIS agent posed as one of our own.” Minho swore under his breath, not bothering to apologise. ASIS – the Australian Secret Intelligence Service was meddling again. The Director shook his head, obviously ashamed. “I don’t know how he slipped past our radar. I don’t know how the bastard did it. Somehow, he stole the surveillance device. It’s probably with ASIS right now. The agent wasn’t seen or heard from again, until last week.” Director Gwan tapped the folder. “According to our source, he’s right here in Seoul.”

Minho’s brows inched upward. Interesting. “What do you need from me?”

“Agent Lee, I need you to find him. Get whatever you can out of him. And then execute him.”

Minho opened the folder and his heart broke. This… This was the man he loved. The man he’d planned on spending the rest of his life with.

Kim Seungmin.

* * *

Seungmin didn’t mean to react the way he did. He looked into the barrel of the gun, and it woke a dormant instinct that had been drilled into him during his training. 

He flipped the table, and tackled Minho to the ground. Minho elbowed him in his stomach, an arm wrapped around Seungmin’s neck until he was on his knees and squirming in a chokehold. “You bastard,” Minho spat, “I fucking trusted you! I loved you!”

“Minho,” Seungmin gasped, “let me – let me…” he clamped his teeth down on Minho’s hand, forcing a startled cry from the man. Seungmin tasted blood as he lurched out of Minho’s grip. On his feet, he scrambled backward. “Just let me explain.”

Minho was after him in an instant, his eyes narrowed. He slammed Seungmin back against the glass cabinet. Fragments of glass cut into Seungmin’s arms and back, a large piece lodged into his thigh. He hissed at the piercing pain and drove his knee into Minho’s ribcage. Without missing a beat, he swept Minho’s feet out from under him so that he was sprawled on the ground. 

Seungmin dropped down, straddling him and pinning his wrists to the floor, “I said, let me explain.”

“Go to fucking hell,” Minho growled, before he flipped them over.

Seungmin grunted as the piece of glass wedged itself deeper into his thigh. Minho’s fist connected with his jaw, and Seungmin twisted his body, hand reaching for the discarded gun. He closed his fingers around the gun, pressing the barrel to Minho’s chest. “Minho, baby, I don’t want to hurt you.”

Minho pushed away from him and laughed. He clutched his belly as he howled. And it broke Seungmin seeing the tears streaming down his cheeks. Minho, _crying_ , “You don’t want to hurt me? Then what the fuck have you been doing all these years?”

Seungmin sat up, not stupid enough to lower the gun, but feeling guiltier every second he had the gun pointed at Minho. “I love you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Listen to me,” he pleaded. “Just listen, Minho.”

Minho stared at the gun, his thumb swiping his bloodied lip, “I guess you’re not giving me a choice.”

“I think,” Seungmin panted as he rested his back against the wall, “that we both have some explaining to do.”

“I don’t need to explain anything to you,” Minho sounded cold, every word laced with venom.

Seungmin sighed. One of them had to give in. It may as well be him. “I’m registered at ASIS as Sky2209,” he said, dread washing over him as Minho’s face contorted with rage. “Five years ago I was sent to South Korea as a foreign agent. A spy. I worked at the NIS lab for a year, sending information back to Australia. When they heard about a surveillance device, they wanted it. It was my new mission – steal the Globular59, take it to them. But…” he shook his head. “I couldn’t let them have it.” Minho cocked his head to the side, clearly confused. “The Globular59 would allow unauthorized surveillance. Privacy for citizens would be non-existent. Every personal conversation – phone calls, video calls – would be monitored and recorded. Even in their own homes, people would have no privacy. I couldn’t let it happen. So I went rogue.”

“You expect me to believe that?” Minho shook his head in disgust. “Every word that comes out of your mouth is bullshit. Lies. Everything is a lie.”

“That’s not true,” Seungmin tried to reason with him. “When you found me on that highway, bleeding to death, it wasn’t because I was the victim of a robbery. That – that was a lie. An ASIS agent tracked me down. He wanted the device.”

“How long have you been using me to get information on the NIS?” Minho asked. Seungmin stared at him in confusion. So Minho… _Minho_ was an _NIS agent_? “Did you hack into my phone? My computer? What else? What did you find? You can’t tell me that an ASIS agent wouldn’t have been able to see through the fake marketing consultancy company that I created as a guise. You could’ve found the truth easily.” 

“Minho, I didn’t know!” Seungmin lowered the gun a fraction. “I had no idea you worked with the NIS. And yeah, I could’ve found the truth easily, but when you love someone, Minho, you _trust_ them!”

“Trust?” Minho gave him a grim smile. “There’s nothing to trust when everything’s been built on a lie.” He sighed and his eyes fluttered shut for a moment. “I wonder how long you would have lived this lie. If I wasn’t given this mission, I wouldn’t have even known. And – and now I…” he shuddered, fresh tears slipping down his cheeks. 

The man Seungmin loved, the man who had been his best friend and his family, was distraught, and instead of being there to comfort him, he had a gun pointed at him. This was wrong. It was all so wrong. And Seungmin didn’t know how to fix it.

“I was given a mission four weeks ago,” Minho said. “To execute you.”

Ah. Well, it made sense then. Seungmin nodded and ignoring every instinct that screamed at him to not be an idiot, he tossed the gun over to Minho. “Do it then.”

Minho kept his eyes fixed on the gun lying at his feet, and he said, “You see, Seungmin. I don’t for one second believe that your love was ever real. I don’t believe that you’re telling the truth. But my love was – _is_ real. And as much as I fucking hate you right now, I love you just as much. So I’m going to get you out of this mess. I’m going to help you get back to ASIS.”

“To ASIS?” Seungmin shook his head, “Minho, believe me, ASIS wants me dead. I can’t go back there.”

Minho huffed out a laugh, “You know what? I’ll send you back to them, and _if_ they do want you dead, maybe they can finish you off for me.”

“I love you, Min.”

“Stop saying that,” Minho said through gritted teeth. “Just stop fucking lying.” He pinched his nose bridge between his thumb and forefinger. “It’s over, Seungmin,” his voice grew hoarse. “Everything’s finished.”

Everything’s finished.

Minho had said that to Seungmin, but did he really want to believe it? He stared at the locked bedroom door. He’d holed himself inside the bedroom, unable to trust Seungmin enough to be in the same room with him with his back turned.

It had been like this ever since Minho found out the truth. He’d come home late every day so that Seungmin would be asleep when he got in. He didn’t sleep at night anymore – he just sat and watched the ASIS agent, afraid that if he closed his eyes he wouldn’t wake up again. He didn’t trust Seungmin at all.

In a matter of weeks, he’d lost everything – because Seungmin had been everything to him. With that realization, loneliness closed in on him forcing him to admit that his life was falling apart. 

He jumped in surprise when his phone thrummed in his hand. “Hey, Bin.”

“How’d it go?”

“He’s still alive.”

Changbin snorted, “Yeah, I didn’t really expect you to blow his brains out.” Minho winced at the graphic imagery playing out in his head. He could never… “Should I come over now? I have everything you need.”

“Please,” Minho exhaled, and then added, “if you’re sure about helping me.”

“Are _you_ sure you want to help _him_?”

Minho chewed on his lip. He could hear Seungmin sweeping up the mess they made in the dining room. He was still there. And that counted for something. “Yeah.”

“And you’re sure you’re ready to say goodbye to him?”

Minho stared at the wall, as if he could see the three years of Seungmin’s charade projected before him like a reel of film. 

There was nothing left to say anymore except goodbye.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 💕💕💕💕💕
> 
> Twt: @StrayLilly


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